


Just Friends

by acecereal



Category: The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28497519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acecereal/pseuds/acecereal
Summary: “Maybe I don’t wanna be just friendsSee you only on the weekendsSorry hope you understandI like you a little too much for that”-Just Friends by Jordy
Relationships: Benny Watts/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 14
Collections: With Benny





	Just Friends

Elisse found that the facial feature of Benny that she likes the most were his eyes, so round and dark, which stood out under the orange light of his poorly-lit apartment in the middle of New York City. She would get lost in those eyes every time she would stare at them. So often, she would look everywhere except those eyes. They were sitting across each other and Benny was looking down at the chess board in front of him, moving pieces every now and then. He was narrating and showing what happened to a recent game that he played but Elisse was too distracted to actually listen. She let her gaze take in his facial features—his thick eyebrows, beautiful pair of eyes, his nose, his moustache, then her eyes wandered to his soft-looking lips. Now, that’s another pair of good contenders when it comes to what she likes the most.

“Are you bored?” Benny said, snapping her out of her train of thoughts. Benny had looked up from the chess board to meet her gaze and she immediately looked down at the board, pretending to examine it.

“No, no, not at all.” She shook her head, pursing her lips together.

“You’re not listening to a word I say, are you?” She heard him chuckle deeply afterwards and it was like a melody to her ears. “I would say I’m sorry but you asked me to tell you all about it and you know how I am when it comes to chess.”

“Yeah, I realized that too late. You were in the middle of your cute demonstration when it dawned on me that I should never ask.”

“It was not supposed to be cute but it’s better than boring, I guess” She finally looked up to look at his smile and she could not help but smile back at him. “Anyway, are you hungry?”

“No, but I can use something to drink.”

“Coffee? Juice?”

“Coffee, please. Thanks.”

“Coming right up” He rose from his seat to boil some water from the coffee. 

She stayed on her seat, gazing at the chessboard this time. She was no expert in chess but she knew the rules enough to understand what the ex-US chess champion was demonstrating. Elisse had been friends with Benny for a while, ever since Benny took a particular interest in her when he found her learning chess for the first time during breakfast in the middle of a diner. He even offered to teach her. She was only playing for fun so she did not know the known names in chess, thus she did not recognize Benny. She only discovered that he was one of the greatest when she came to his apartment for the first time and saw all his trophies. 

_ “Wow, you have a lot of them—trophies, I mean. You must play a lot.” _

_ “I’ve been playing since I was a kid so yeah” _

_ “You’ve been winning trophies since you were a kid?” _

_ “I was kind of, uh, a child prodigy” She looked at him in awe and he chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m too old now and Beth Harmon had already stolen the US chess champion title away from me.” _

_ “What? You were the US chess champion too?” _

_ “I was, yeah” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Now, do you want to learn chess or do you prefer to gawk at me all day? I’m actually fine either way.” _

Elisse let out a happy sigh at the memory. Benny, even though he undeniably had an air of arrogance about him, did not seem to mind titles so much. He was even kind enough to befriend a beginner at chess like her. He taught her chess for a couple of months but even after that, they kept in touch, meeting on weekends whenever he was not travelling to compete. They would either meet at the diner, his apartment, or her apartment and mostly, they’re just chatting about whatever. Elisse found that she enjoyed Benny’s company  _ a lot _ but she wondered if he felt the same. He seemed to be the type who liked being surrounded by anyone so she always wondered if she would do as a company because anyone would do.

“What’s on your mind?” Benny placed a cup of coffee on the side of her table then placed a glass of juice in front of him. 

“Just wondering.” She replied, using both her hands to grab the cup of coffee and lifting it to her lips. All the while, Benny was staring at her as if expecting her to continue so, she did. “Just wondering why we hang out.” 

At this, Benny furrowed his eyebrows a little. “Did I talk about chess too much for your liking? We can always talk about something else.”

“That’s not what I meant. I like hearing about chess.” She let out a chuckle and he sighed in relief. “I meant, why do you hang out with me? You probably have a lot of friends here in New York”

“You’re a fun person to talk to so I like hanging out with you.” He had a confused expression in his face as he spoke, probably wondering why she would even bring that up. “And I do have a lot of friends here in New York and well, all over the US. I find the time to hang around with them too. Now, now, what’s the matter with you?”

“I just... got insecure all of a sudden.”

“Well, don’t be.” He reached one of his arms out across the table to tuck a strand of her long black hair behind her ears, his gaze fixed on her. “You’re a good friend.” She stared back at his eyes and in that moment, she got lost in them. 

“You’re a good friend too.” But she knew he did not want him to be.

\------------------------

They met again the next weekend and they were sitting across each other inside the diner where they first met. The table only had their juices and a newspaper on top of it with no chess boards in sight. Elisse was telling Benny how her week went. She’s a primary school teacher and she would always have an interesting story to tell about the children she’s assigned to teach. Benny was listening to her eagerly, laughing every once in a while at her story.

“Sorry for rambling.” She said after she finished telling her story. Right on time, the waiter placed their orders on top of the table and they both uttered a thank you. Benny turned his gaze from the waiter back to her.

“I like hearing your stories. Kids sure are interesting.”

“Yeah, I would love to have a couple of them someday.” Elisse uttered then she felt a blush crept on her face as her thoughts suddenly wandered on how it would be nice if it would be with him.  _ Bad Elisse, that’s not how you should imagine your future with a friend. _

“I, on the other hand, don’t think I can handle them.” He replied with a shrug and just like that, her imagination shattered. “I’m not even ready to be in a serious relationship.”

“You’re still a kid at heart, after all”

“What did you say?” He feigned a hurt expression before laughing. “Just so you know, I’m all grown now. I’m looking for a job, like a real adult.” The statement made her raise an eyebrow. She was aware that Benny paid his bills through gambling and sometimes, chess competitions. Both gave him more than enough money since he’s so good at them so there’s no real reason for him to work.

“A job? Why?”

“I just feel like I should.” There was a hint of hesitation of his voice - something that seemed so out of character. 

“Why?” She pressed on even though she felt like she shouldn’t.

“Elisse” He frowned slightly. “I can’t be a chess bum and a gambler forever, can I?” That sounded like a good enough reason so she let it go even though she felt like there was something he was still not telling her.

“Don’t frown. It doesn’t suit you.” 

He let out a sigh before reaching his hand out from across the table and tucking a strand of her hair to the back of her ears. She could feel her heart racing as he did so. He seemed to do it a lot recently. “Fine.” He said, smiling softly.

\------------------------

The next time they met was five weeks later and it wasn’t a weekend. Elisse was in her apartment, watching television while drinking coke when she heard a knock on the door. She was not expecting anyone to visit her, especially on a school night. 

“Who is it?” She rose up from the couch and slowly opened the door to reveal Benny, who was holding his cowboy hat in his hands. He was staring intently at her and she was too surprised to speak. For a while, they just stared at each other on her doorstep. 

“Elisse” His voice was deep as he showed her a slight smile while leaning on her door frame. It was then that she realized he was reeking of alcohol. She let out a deep sigh.

“Benny,” she replied, “What are you doing here? You didn’t even call beforehand and you’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been too busy with competitions these past weeks. Figured it was a good thing to drink with some friends to celebrate after winning most of them” The smile never left his face as he spoke. His gaze never left hers either. “Are you going to let me in or what?”

“Did you drive here drunk?”

“I’m pretty sober.” He said and hiccuped, stumbling a little. He blinked a couple of times. “Okay, maybe, I had a few too many. But I have to go here right after coming back to New York. You must have missed me a lot.” His smile turned into a smirk and she rolled her eyes. She did miss him since he was too busy to call but there’s no way she’s going to admit that to his drunken ass. She pursed her lips, opening the door wider to let him in.

“I’ll let you sleep on the couch.” 

As a response, he only laughed and entered. He was quick to make himself at home by laying down on her couch and closing his eyes. She shook her head but went to her room to get a blanket. She then went back near the couch to cover him with her brown blanket, staring at and admiring his face as she did so. She paused for a while, stroking his hair that was falling in front of his face. Suddenly, Benny grabbed her hand, his eyes still closed.

“Elisse” He muttered then pulled her into a hug so she was on top of him on the couch. She could feel a blush on her cheeks and her heart racing. Benny’s actions were not good for her heart.

“B-Benny” She managed to utter out as she placed her arms beside him to support herself. He hugged her tighter and she could hear him drifting off to sleep. She turned her head to look up at him but immediately looked back down when she realized how close their faces were. She knew she shouldn’t take advantage of his drunken state and she should just wriggle free. But she could not help it. She let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off to sleep.

“You’re a good friend, Elisse” She heard him mutter in his sleep and her heart sank.

When she woke up the next day, she was alone on top of her couch. There was no sign of Benny except for the note that he left: “I’m sorry for intruding last night. I promise it won’t happen again. I’ll treat you drinks the next time we meet to make up for it.”

\-------------------------

It wasn’t until the holidays when he had the chance to ‘make up for it’. In particular, it was during the New Year’s Eve. They were sitting next to each other on her apartment’s couch, shoulders practically grazing against each other. She didn’t know when they got so close during their conversation but she wasn’t complaining. He brought wine and cake while she cooked pasta for their New Year’s Eve dinner. 

She was telling him about her Christmas eve with her family while Benny listened with a smile. Her gaze was fixed on the wine glass she was holding as she spoke and all the while, she could feel Benny’s intense gaze on her.

“That’s enough about my short vacation. What about you? How’d you spend your Christmas?” She raised an eyebrow, still avoiding his gaze.

“I went to Kentucky, visited Beth” She could feel her heart sinking when she heard the current chess champion’s name. Benny probably would spend special holidays with any friends 

so him being with her during New Year’s eve was nothing special. At least, it didn’t seem as special as him visiting another state in order to spend Christmas with another friend. 

“Must be fun” She said, her eyebrows furrowed. He was still staring at her so he noticed the change in her mood but he decided against inquiring about it.

“Yeah, we had a Christmas party with a lot of other people who play chess. Everyone decided to adjust for her since she’s the current champion so...” She let out a breath she did not know she was holding, her expression softening which made Benny smile. Silence enveloped them for a little while until Benny decided to break it. 

“Elisse” She hummed in response. “You’ve been staring at your drink all this while.” He commented, reaching out to hold her hand that was gripping on the wine glass. She blushed. His hand was warm.

“I just find the glass fancy since I almost never bring it out.”

“Liar.” This made her directly look at him and she could not help but get lost in his eyes once again. He was staring intently at her, as if he was looking for something in her eyes. Silence enveloped them once again and this time, neither planned to break it as they just stared at each other. With his free hand, Benny tucked a strand of hair behind Elisse’s ear. She blinked a couple of times, a blush creeping on her cheeks as Benny continued staring at her, his hand still holding hers.

“Benny,” She finally spoke, very softly, as if there was something fragile in the air that would break if she were a little louder. 

“Hm?” He responded, gaze not leaving hers.

“I don’t want to be your friend anymore.” She heard him hold his breath, his expression changing to a neutral, more solemn one.

“D-did I make you uncomfortable?” His grip on her loosened and he reluctantly let go of her hand.

“No” She said, her voice still almost a whisper then she spoke louder. “On the contrary”

“Then, why? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no” She shook her head then pursed her lips. She wanted to blame the wine but she hadn’t even finished her first glass while Benny already had three. She took a deep breath before speaking.  _ Here goes nothing. _ “The thing is… I like you, not as a friend, more than that. I know you told me you’re not ready but I don’t want to be just friends with you anymore. I don’t want to only meet on the weekends when you’re here in New York. I also don’t want to keep taking advantage of our closeness, in order to keep seeing you. I like you a little too much for that.”

He was silent for a moment and he had that unreadable expression in his face before he let out a shaky sigh. Then, to her surprise, he smiled.

“I got a job offer to be a chess mentor in a highschool just before the holiday started. I’ll probably start working once the semester starts this upcoming year.” She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion then looked down at her wine glass. She just poured her heart out to him but he decided it was a good time to tell her about his job offer. Was he not taking her seriously? Or was he really that bad in reading the mood?

“What does that have to do with anything?” She said, clicking her tongue.

“What I’m trying to say is I’m  _ not  _ not ready anymore. I looked for a stable job so I can get into a stable relationship with...” He trailed off as he took a deep breath before speaking once again. “I’ve been racking my brain all day, thinking of what I’ll say and how I’ll say it” She looked up at him, his words were slowly being processed inside her brain. “But fuck, in the end, I lack the courage to.”

“Say what?” She knew what he was going to say or at least, she thought she knew but she was met with silence. Instead, he leaned in slowly, only stopping an inch away from her, as if silently asking for permission. She could not help but smile before closing her eyes and kissing him. He kissed her back gently before pulling away.

“I like you too. Will you be my...” He stared at her eyes, loss for words. It was then she realized that he was at loss in her eyes as she was in his. She smiled as she stared back at him.

“Yes.”


End file.
